USA - The highly anticipated Grand Opening Celebration of the National Medal of Honor Museum took place on 22 March, with a nighttime spectacular that showcased Elation lighting with the company’s new ultra-long-throw Proteus Atlas beam FX fixture taking centre stage. Located in the heart of Arlington, Texas, and the newest national museum in the United States, the National Medal of Honor Museum honours US Armed Forces personnel who took extraordinary action in the service of others.
Designed by renowned Rafael Viñoly Architects, the museum is a tribute to over 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients and the millions of Americans who have served in the United States Armed Forces. The opening night celebration was a grand affair, with dignitaries, donors, and Medal of Honor recipients in attendance, along with local citizens of Arlington.
The nighttime spectacle – Mission to Inspire Spectacular – featured a stunning 360˚ display of fireworks, drones, storytelling, and live performances, all supported by an immersive lighting design by Ryan Stumpp, principal at Cue 13 Design. The nighttime spectacular, produced by Dallas-based Corporate Magic, was crafted to reflect the core mission of the museum to inspire America through storytelling while celebrating the Medal of Honour recipients, the nation’s highest military honour.
Stumpp, who worked closely with Corporate Magic as the lead lighting designer and programmer, brought his extensive experience in nighttime spectaculars – gained from nearly two decades at Walt Disney World and Disney Live Entertainment.
“The way I approach nighttime spectaculars is to carefully support the thematic emotions of the music and story through a visual journey, much like theatre – but on a much larger stage canvas with a variety of viewing angles and lighting positions,” the designer stated. “In this case, it was to set moods that reinforced the narratives of commitment and valour with big and grand looks, bravery and sacrifice with solemn beams to the heavens, and a huge grand finale celebrating honour and legacy – complimenting a beautiful drone and pyrotechnics design.”
The event marked the US debut of Elation’s Proteus Atlas, an ultra-long-throw IP66 moving head fixture, and the foundation of a powerful team of Elation luminaires that also included Proteus Brutus, Proteus Hybrid Max, Paragon M, Fuze Wash 500, and KL Panel fixtures.
Stumpp noted that the design relied on Elation for 75% of the lighting, some 110 fixtures for the nighttime show alone. “With the backdrop of a nighttime spectacular and such a variety of important people present, we needed large and impactful lighting looks with the finesse of perfect key lighting to put our best foot forward, and Elation lighting helped us achieve that,” he stated.
The opening celebration included four events – a cocktail party, a gala dinner, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and the Mission to Inspire Spectacular – all lit by Stumpp and all featuring Elation lighting. Paragon M and Fuze Wash 500 lights were used for the cocktail party, while Paragon M, Fuze Wash 500, and KL Panel fixtures lit the gala dinner, which took place in a tent with the museum as a backdrop.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony, featuring former President George W. Bush, one of the honorary directors of the museum, was held in the museum’s open-air rotunda. Here Paragon M was used for key light, with KL Panels utilised for high-quality softlight. The evening culminated by the museum’s lagoon with the Mission to Inspire Spectacular with an awe-inspiring combination of 32 Proteus Atlas, 52 Proteus Hybrid Max, 20 Proteus Brutus and eight Paragon M.
The show took the audience on a journey, starting with a powerful opening, weaving through educational and informational moments that honoured the history of the Medal of Honor and culminating in a dynamic finale of light, colour, and impact. Stumpp sought to create a theatrical environment in which guests could be immersed.
“It was important that the show be creative yet very emotional,” he said, “but it also needed to be backed with big beams; therefore, I relied on the Proteus Atlas as the flagship lighting fixture.” Stumpp was already familiar with the fixture and its laser-based LILI light engine from his work at Elation, where he saw a shootout against competitor lights in which, he says, it more than held its own. “It has a massive front lens and throws a concentrated 0.6˚ beam of light impressively long distances,” he said.
Christopher Laue from Corporate Magic, the event’s executive producer, shared: “The partnership with Elation and the deployment of their Atlas fixtures allowed us to create the visual continuity between story and screen content to pyrotechnics and drones. All working in harmony with an epic musical score. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.”
Dan Lamphier, VP of Production at Live Events Productions who headed up the project for the Live Events team, added: “It was a true team effort. We worked with Corporate Magic for 10 months, refining the design to create something special. Bringing everything together on-site, through a week of installation, programming, and rehearsals, it resulted in a spectacular event, and I think everybody walked away with a sense of pride.
“The lighting, fireworks, drones, and storyline combined to honour the history of the Medal of Honor – it was more than just a building opening; the event brought home the profound significance behind the Medal of Honor.”
Stumpp expressed his privilege in lighting such a noble event and reflected on his first time working with Gemini, which he gives an A++. “It was a real honour to work on such a prestigious event, and collaborating with the Live Events Productions team, Gemini, and Pyrotecnico was an amazing experience. They were fantastic partners with a dedicated staff that pays close attention to detail. We couldn’t have done it without them.”
